US invests R5.4bn in SA solar power

US government development bank, Overseas Private Investment Corp (OPIC), will invest up to R5.4 billion ($400 million) in a solar thermal plant in SA. The 100MW Redstone solar project, developed by California-based SolarReserve and Saudi Arabian electricity producer ACWA Power, will be situated in the Northern Cape and provide electricity to over 200 000 homes during peak demand once complete. “In itself, [the project is] not that big,” considering SA has a peak power demand of approximately 35 000MW, says Chris Yelland, energy analyst and MD of EE Publishers.

Yet small-scale renewable energy projects are relatively quick to deploy, and a large number of small energy projects affords SA’s energy sphere more flexibility and less risk than relying mostly on large-scale plants, which often take longer than expected to develop, pose greater risk to SA’s power grid if they encounter complications, and are too expensive for private investors to finance, Yelland continues.